Converse Rubber Tracks: Oh, Hello – Havoc

Havoc of Mobb Deep spoke with Converse Rubber Tracks about his earliest days as a recording artist and how he became one of hip hop’s most famed rapper/producers.

“I definitely started off as an emcee first. That’s how I started, that’s how I came into the game,” he said. “Basically, how I became a producer was we couldn’t afford the beats that these producers were charging a million dollars for a track. We invested in a little bit of equipment, starting making tracks and it just had a life of its own. It was crazy. It was a lot of pressure, but I love pressure. Pressure creates diamonds, so I just did it.”

“The ‘90s was something that’s indescribable. It’s almost like a family thing. Looking back on it now, you miss those times because it was more effort put into the music. The music was album-orientated. Now, it’s just single-orientated. Now, it’s so many producers out there, music is just like that. It’s not really a special event anymore. Not to really criticize the game like that, because it is what it is, whatever. If you want to make money, then OK, you’ll just make these cookie cutter beats. But if you want to stand out and just leave your mark on the world, you’ll make something that sounds different and take a risk. No risk, no reward.”